


Not Entirely Convenient

by Random_Kid



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Keith is grumpy and tired, Keiths Gay, Light Angst, M/M, More tags to be added, Pining, Slow Burn, lance is bi, lance is pretty, yada yada u read the tags its klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 1964-01-30
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-03-11 17:52:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13529493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Kid/pseuds/Random_Kid
Summary: Keith has been working at a convenience store for three years. He’s dropped out of college, given up on relationships, vows never to trust Shiro again (Too many bad blind dates), and has resigned to a life of minimum wage and roller hotdogs that taste like spam.Until he meets Lance.The rambunctious, obnoxious, blast-from-the-past college student that he slowly comes to realize will be the death of him. Curse that sunkissed angel-looking son of a bitch.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! Correct me, encourage me, do what ever, I dont care! You’re actually reading! (The update schedule is going to be h e l l. Encouragment gets me goin, though!)

Three of them.

Keith had successfully been through and ended three relationships so far. And for everyone, he got the same explanation of why:

“You’re moving too fast.”

And it totally didn’t bother Keith one bit. He didn’t mind that they didn’t bother to talk about it first. Didn’t mind that the next two said everything was fine when he asked if he was moving too fast. Totally didn’t care about the fact that every one of them decided to dump him through a text instead of saying it to his face. 

He totally didn’t care.

Okay, so, in hindsight, he realizes that most of it was kind of his fault, but still! Give a guy a warning, right? Aren’t couples supposed to work through it together? 

Keith pressed a little harder on the gas pedal of his old, beaten-up Ford. He had just gone to his eighth blind date that his brother set up for him, and once again, they excused themselves to “the bathroom” and left before the stupid date even ended. How many times did he have to tell Shiro, he doesn’t want another relationship! They always end up in smoke, and he’s already pretty shut off from his own emotions in the first place, so why would he put the icing on the cake by getting shut down over and over again? Keiths been down that road already, and he is not in the mood.

He sighs to himself in frustration, running a hand through his hair and giving it a sharp tug. Meanwhile, he makes a list of things he doesn’t plan on doing anytime soon:

\- Talking to Shiro.  
\- Meeting other people.  
\- Getting into another relationship.  
\- And finally, listening to anyones advice ever again.

Shiro gives the best advice, and if his relationship advice doesn’t work, no one’s will.

Now that Keiths done ranting to himself, he focuses in on the road again and lets each building pass by. Soon enough, he’s back at his old apartment building, climbing out of the drivers seat. ‘Home, sweet home.’ He thinks to himself, struggling to lock his car with his key. He finally shoves it in, and realizes with terror that he - by some miracle of logic and anger-strength - managed to jam it in upside-down. Keith takes a deep, deep breath through his nostrils and lets it out in a slow crawl through his mouth.

Icing on the fucking cake.

Guess the keys are staying there tonight.

Keith trudges from his parking lot and pulls out his other set of keys for his house, having separated his house and car keys for safety reasons (Seriously, what if someone got your keys? What’d you do then?? Die???), and makes sure to jam it in the keyhole right side up. 

After letting himself in, he tosses his keys on his counter, and makes a very easy schedule for tonight: get plastered, and pass out. Simple enough, right?

But alas, as he says that to himself, his phone buzzes with a text notification from his boss. Keith groans, sitting up on the couch he decided to get drunk on, and swipes it off the coffee table.

< Keith, emergency shift!!! The girl who takes the overnight one left out sick and i cant handle the store alone ;-;

< Hunk. Buddy. Its 10pm. I just got out of a disaster date and am in desperate need of alcohol. Are you sure there’s no-one else who can take it?

< Ahh im sorry!! But seriously there’s like five people in here and my anxiety is rearing its head

< Oh shit, that bad? Alright, be there in ten.

Keith sends off his reply and slips his phone back into his pocket, willing his stress-induced half-chub down and throwing on his jacket. That stores air conditioning and him don’t get along- he swears its literally haunted. He messed with it once! One time, and now it tries to freeze him to death every time he goes over. He combs a hand through his hair in a feeble attempt to make him self at least a little bit presentable, but ends up giving up and putting the mess in a ponytail. 

Gloves, check. Keys, check. Car ke- well, check indefinitely. Cigarettes- check. All ready to go.

Keith swings his door open for the second time in the last ten minutes, and walks back out again, back to his beat up ford with the keys stuck in the lock, and yanks at the door handle. 

The car door doesn’t budge.

He yanks again. And again. Keith is now standing in the middle of a nearly-empty parking lot, yanking at the door handle in desperation. Where did his anger strength go? Why cant he use that to open the door? What the fuck?

Keith lets out another groan at the sky, for what seemed like the millionth time today, and banged his head on the side of his car. He didn’t care if he looked crazy at this point, he already knew that. He whips out his phone and opens it up, texting his boss again.

< Its gonna be a little longer than ten minutes.

< Oh heck  
< Why

Keith lets out a pitiful sigh to himself.

< I’ll tell you when I get there.

Keith ends up taking a bus, grumbling to himself the whole way there and looking up cheap car-doors and locksmiths. The shit cake that was today was just getting taller and taller with all this goddamn icing. Keiths stomach grumbles back at him at the thought of cake, and realizes that all he’s had today is a breakfast burrito and leftover cold black coffee. Good thing he works at a store full of junk food and roller hotdogs. Yep, you guessed it, Keith got the privilege of working at a convenience store on the busiest road in his town.

Granted, he does get to work with his angel of a boss, and they’ve only gotten mugged like, twice, but still! He was all excited about his first job, but who knew it’d be the same job he’d have three years later. Apparently his boss got it from his parents because they wanted to teach him some mumbo-jumbo about the family business and “responsibility”, but from what Keith can tell, Hunk would literally be doing anything than owning a convenience store. Poor guy had college, too, so that left Keith to be an unofficial co-owner.

Not that he was ungrateful. No, he was absolutely amazed at how much Hunk put into the store and how well he treated his coworkers. He just kind of thought... adult life would be something more than this. A failing love-life and a cashier job is all he’s got going for himself. ‘Well, you could’ve had a better adult life if you didn’t drop out of college.’ Keiths mind helpfully supplies, making him groan for the millionth and one time today, fermenting that idea he is, indeed, the crazy man on the bus.

Staring really never got to him, especially if its from people he didn’t know, but one pair of eyes where peeking at him from the corner of his own eye, completely transfixed.

Normally this wouldn’t have caught his attention. That is, it wouldn’t have if it was a child looking at him, or a tourist of some kind, not another guy around his age with startlingly pretty eyes. What kind of angel blessed his mother with the ability to have a kid with that kind of blue. What the fuck.

Keith looks back at him, right back into those startlingly pretty eyes, and the other dude quickly turns his gaze away back to the front of the bus. Did he... he just sank into his chair? And someones laughing at him?

Okay, Keiths not a creep, but this actually interested him.

The sudden screech in his ears knocks him out of his haze, finally pulling his eyes away from the back of the strangers head. The bus opens and the stranger hops off, along with their very short, ambiguous friend. Keiths shrugs to himself and settles back into his chair as the little speaker on the bus starts talking.

“This stop at Garret’s, next stop at..”

The bus speakers fade out of Keiths head as his eyes widen in realization.

Wait, Garret’s? Like the convenience store he works at? That one!?

He snaps his head to the window and sees it start to roll away, the bus starting back up on its daily route.

“Wait! Wait wait wait! Stop the bus!” Keith shouts, waving his arms like a maniac to get the drivers attention. The woman slams on the brakes, making everyone lurch forward as Keith trips over his own feet, stumbling to get out the doors.

“Im sorry, Im sorry! Aah, my bad! Sorry!” He says, giving an apologetic look to each and every passenger he passes.

He finally reaches the front of the bus and gives a slight bow of his head to the bus driver.

“My bad! Wont happen again.” He says curtly, speed-walking off the bus.

Once he’s off the bus, he starts full on sprinting to get inside his second ‘Home, sweet home.’, before pausing outside of the door. He takes a few deep breathes with his hands on his knees, before heading inside. 

“Sorry, Hunk, I-“ He starts, before cutting himself off at the sight he has the honor to behold.

The guy from the bus in behind the cash register, tying on Keiths apron, taking off Keiths name tag, rolling up his sleeves, and is having a nice little conversation with his boss. The guys glances back at the door, seemingly checking for customers, before he spots Keith standing there like an idiot with an incredulous look on his face.

“Hi! Welcome to Garrets, there anything I can help you with?” He asks cheerfully, giving Keith a blinding smile.


	2. So Compromise

Keith almost has the wind knocked out of him by that smile, until he reminds himself of three simple things.

His apron.  
His name tag.  
And his job.

His eyebrows furrow at the man behind the counter (although he regrets it somewhat, he got such a warm welcome), and lets out a frustrated sigh.

“Yeah, can I talk to your manager?” Keith huffs out. He unintentionally sounds like an angry soccer mom who’s cup wasn’t completely filled with the chocolate milkshake she promised her son, but he did, and he gets an annoyed look right on back.

“Y’know, people like you are the reason people hate their job.” He retorts, putting a sassy hand to his hip.

God he’s pretty.

“No, sorry, sorry, long day. But I seriously need to talk to him.” Keith says back, massaging the bridge of his nose.

All he gets back is a pout as the man behind the counter heads to the backroom. There are a few moments of silence before loud laughing is heard from the back. Yep, that’s definitely Hunk’s laugh.

Soon enough, Hunk comes out from the back still chuckling to himself. Keiths cocks his eyebrow at him and he stops, before giving him a sheepish look.

“Hunk. Do you have something you want to tell me?” The angry soccer mom, back at it again.

“...Nooo.” Hunk says back, not looking him in the eyes.

“Dude, if you’re gonna fire me just say it. I know my lack of charisma isn’t good for sales, but-“ 

“No no no no no! Oh my god dude, no! Im not firing you! I just got one of my buddies to come help out! You were late, so I thought you weren’t coming, so I got a helping hand!” Hunk hastily explains, cutting Keith off.

“Okay. Then why is he wearing my apron? You know how I feel about my stuff. Its my stuff.” Keith continued, gesturing at Hunk in an accusing manner.

“We didn’t have any spares! I’m sorry!” He yelped, bowing at him and clapping his hands together.

Keith grumbles, before laughing at the whole situation. He wraps his arms around his torso and bends over, losing his shit in the middle of a convenience story. Hunk cocks an eyebrow it him, but soon realizes that this is a perfect situation for Keiths special brand of humor.

“Oh my sweet lord this is such a shit show holy fuck-“

“Aaah!! No! No bad words for Hunks baby ears!!” The guy in the back screeches from the room, pushing out of the doors and slapping his hands over Hunks ears.

Keith just laughs harder at the guys face, that of which is slowly being overtaken by a deep blush. Wait, blush? Why’s he blushing? Why do the tips of his ears blush such a pretty color? Who gave this man permission? Im being physically assaulted with my own gay? What the fuck?

Onec again, Keith snaps out of his own lovestruck daze, to realize that he’s just been staring at the guy for a few seconds. He shakes out of it, bashfully averting his eyes before trying to play it off. 

“S-So, Hunk, who is this guy, anyway?” Keith coughs, putting a fist over his mouth.

Hunk cocks an eyebrow at him, opening his mouth to speak before the blue-eyed dude cuts him off.

“What!? You don’t remember me!? We went to high-school together! We had all the same classes!” He proclaims loudly, pointing an accusing finger at Keith.

Keiths lovestruck and bashful mood quickly folds into one of annoyance.

“What are you yelling at me for? I just said I didn’t know you!” He retorts, rising up to the challenge.

“You seriously don’t remember?! Its me! Lance!” He replies, putting a hand to his chest.

Keith remembers, alright! He’s the guy who’d always goad him into a quarrel, and get them both into detention over it. Keiths no better for taking the bet, but still! He started it!

Wait.

This is an opportunity.

“Nope, not ringing any bells.” Keith says, cocking his hip out to the side with a sly smirk.

Lance’s jaw drops.

Bingo.

“Wha-!” He starts, before Hunk slaps a hand over his mouth.

“Look, I understand that you guys had a stupid rivalry thing in high-school, and quarreling is all well and good, but not in the middle of the store, please! People want to buy their crappy chips in peace!” Hunk exclaims, putting himself between the two.

He turns to Keith. “Look, Keith, Im sorry about this, but can you cooperate with Lance this once. I really need help tonight.” He pleads, looking at Keith with puppy eyes.

“But- What do you mean I’M not cooperating! He started it!” Keith says, feeling guilty about not bending his will for Hunks puppy eyes. He almost feels dirty.

“Okay, but still, just work with him for tonight! Its only a few days.” Hunk responds, pleading still.

Keith sighs. Looks at Lance. Looks back to Hunk. Looks at the store. He puts his hands on his hips.

“Fine.” 

Hunks eyes light up, and he turns to Lance, hand on his hip.

“You have to work with him, too!”

Lance groans loudly - not to mention dramatically - before sighing and giving in.

Keith scowls at his response, but brushes past him to stand behind the counter. Two more hours. Two more hours, and he can be home and asleep for six hours, then it’s right back to work. Yippee.


	3. Goodnight, Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hecc this got popular im YELLING

Two hours fly by fast, when you hate your co-workers. Funny, it usually felt longer like this, but Keith guesses Lance makes the air so uncomfortable with his shining personality that it has the same effect. Hunk is apologizing to them both profusely from behind the counter, and they both say its fine simultaneously three times. And every time, they blush and look at each other, before huffing and swinging their head back around to face the isles. 

“Stop copying me!” Lance huffs, swiping a customers product across the scanner.

“That’s not copying, Lance, copying is saying it after you’re done talking. What we just did is called a coincidence.” 

Two hours become none, and they both go home. Hunk closes up the store and they both head out to the bus stop, standing awkwardly beside each other as the sounds of the highway drown out the peaceful quiet their both wishing for. Lance turns to Keith, before shuffling back and fourth on his heels and looking back at the ground.

“Hey, uh... I’m sorry about, um...” Lance starts to say, before he cuts off at Keiths abrupt shouting.

“What?” He yells over the sound of the traffic, turning to Lance with an eyebrow cocked.

“Are you saying ‘what’ as in ‘what for’ or ‘what’ as in you cant hear me?” Lance replies, a little louder this time.

“...What!?” 

Lance groans to himself. Of course he cant hear him. Couldn’t hear him in high school, cant hear him here.

“I said, Im sorry about high school!” Lance yells back, straining his voice. Has the highway always been this loud!?

“Uhh... No problem! I think! Are you talking about high school!?” Keith says, cocking his head.b

Lance nods vigorously. Hopefully Keiths eyes work fine.

“Oh, uh, like I said! It’s fine! We were both prepubescent teenage boys! Im pretty sure that’s normal!?” Keith yells back, unsure of his own words.

Lance’s eyebrows flatten into a line, unimpressed. “Four-year long rivalries aren’t normal. Attempted pranks at graduation aren’t either. Just take the apology, okay!?” 

Keith stays silent for a little while, before rubbing the back of his neck.

“... What?”

Lance groans to the sky, effectively telling Keith that he’s contemplating giving up on the conversation entirely. But he pushes on.

Keith just cocks his eyebrow again.

“Look, all I’m trying to say, is, I don’t really. Y’know. Like, hate you? High school was a long time ago, so, could we start over? I was kind of a dick back then, and in the store. Can I start fresh again?” Lance yells, all in one fell swoop to try and not to say it in three separate lines. That’d just confuse Keith a little more, and at this point, there was really no going back.

Lance admits he was kind of a dick to Keith. Like, high school is all fun and learning how to not be so petty about stuff, but Lance really tried to bug him. Like, a lot, as in borderline bullying him. Lance never meant harm back then, it was really just to spice things up a little, but looking back on it, he was kind of straight up mean to the guy. 

But hindsight is 20/20, and it doesn’t really matter now anyways.

They’re adults. Hey can get over something like that, but Lance wasn’t the type to let things go. Treating a person like that is bad, and Lance has to apologize for it somehow, and he wont stop or quit until he does.

Would it be too early to ask the guy out to a fancy restaurant as an ‘I’m sorry, you can spend and equal amount of money as my tuition fund here.’? Probably. Dinner would be... a weird thing to ask for two-and-a-half hours into their newly found relationship. Keith said it was okay, too, but it wasn’t very convincing. 

Keith was apprehensive about meeting Lance again. The guy had grown since high school, but that didn’t mean he’d’ve really matured any - he was still Lance. The same guy who left petty, silly, almost endearing insults in his locker scribbled down hastily on a sheet of torn-out notebook paper. It was almost cute at the time, because the guy actually took a few minutes out of his day just to write a note to Keith.

But it was still and insult, and it happened for every day for several years, and Keith always quipped something back on the same note, before sliding it in his locker. It was like a secret little messaging system they had. 

 

Keith smiled to himself. Lance was the closest thing he had to a friend back then.

But he was still kind of an asshole.

The bus screeched up to their stop, abruptly shaking Keith from his trance. Lance’s eyes go into a flat stare, looking to the same tiny ambiguous friend who got off the bus with them before. Wait, how are they back on the bus? Didn’t they go into the store with Lance?

“Pidge, where did you go? You went into the store with me! Did you just, like, magically slip out the door while I had a little meet-n-greet with Mullet-head?” He asks, walking onto the bus.

Keith closes his eyes, willing down his annoyance at the lovely nickname Lance bestowed upon him.

“Thats top secret, sorry buddy. You gotta be part of the circle.” The person, now Pidge, replies. 

“Who’s in ‘the circle’?” Lance asks, arching a thin, inquisitive eyebrow.

“Me.”

Pidge looks over Lance’s shoulder to Keith, still standing in the doorway while Lance tries to shimmy past.

“Names Pidge. Or Katie, whatever you prefer. Nice to meet you. I’m guessing you’re ‘Mullet-head’?” They say, sticking out a tiny hand for a hand shake. 

Keith meets their hand with his own, and gives it a firm shake. “Yeah, actually its Keith. I knew Lance in high school.” He replies.

Pidges glasses flash on the brink of their nose. “Mm. That Keith, huh? Yeah, I remember you. Lance talked about you all the ti-mph!” Pidge starts, before Lance cuts her off with a hand around her mouth.

“Alrighty, thats enough! Keith, ignore that.” Lance says quickly, almost throwing his body over theirs in further attempts to smother them.

Pidge lets out a grunt, before theirs a bout of silence, before Lance looks straight ahead.

“Pidge, you of all people should know by now that licking my hand isn’t going to get it to move. I have like, three brothers.” Lance says, almost disappointed.

Pidge gives a flat look to no one in particular before prying his arms off.

“Hey, could you guys move it? I gotta schedule to keep!” The bus lady shouts from behind the two.

They all shuffle onto the bus, Lance staring abashedly at his shoes, Pidge clearly not giving two shits, while all Keith wants to do is sleep. He doesn’t even want to get wasted.

The bus pulls away, the passing lights almost lulling Keith into a sleep, until he reaches his stop and gets inside his apartment. He pulls off his pants and boots before flopping down onto the bed, asleep before his head hits the pillow. Goodnight, cruel world.

Goodnight, Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos, comments, and critiques always welcome!! Just be nice about it ;p


	4. Neighbors

The alarm that blares from his phone is a harsh awakening. The last thing that Keith wants to do is wake up, and he groans to his ceiling before cracking his eyes open. He’s still in his clothes from yesterday, he remembers, and he fishes his phone out. Its at a healthy 12%, and Keith pushes the off button, and runs his hands over his face. He slaps his cheeks, begrudgingly getting up from his bed, that of which is still a very inviting and cozy warm. He trudges into his kitchen, peeling off his flannel over his head, and opening his fridge to be greeted to next to nothing.

A carton of milk, three eggs, and a lot of microwave breakfast food. He pulls out the milk carton and closes the fridge, taking the cap off the milk and taking a swig. Four hours till he has to be at work. Wake up at six, get dressed, workout, smoke, see if he can get breakfast, and head off to work. He’s gonna have to scratch smoking off his list today, realizing he is in desperate need of a shower before he does anything else. No breakfast, either, he’s gotta get someone to open his car. Upon remembering his car, he realizes he cant go to the gym because there’s not a bus route that’d take him there. So, basically, Keith has a lot of free time this morning.

Maybe he could squeeze in a smoke, after all.

Its not like he gets breakfast often anyway.

Keith could easily get a quick nap in before he has to do anything, and he would if he could, but it seems like someone decided to move in next door at an ungodly hour. Or, at least the loud obnoxious banging next door made it sound like that. Keith thumps his arm on the wall.

“Hey, buddy, keep it down! Some people are trying to sleep!” Keith yells through, waiting for a response.

The bumping stops. “Well, sor-ry, ‘s not like I want to do this so early in the morning.”

Keith freezes at the scarily familiar voice. No, it couldn’t be him- Didn’t he get off the bus at a different stop than Keith? Well, he is moving in. Maybe he was packing yesterday?

Keith hesitates. “...Wait, Lance?” 

There’s silence from the other room. “Wait, Keith?”

Everything goes quiet for a sec. Of course it’d be him.

Keith throws on a pair of pajama pants and Pokes his head out of his front door, spotting the open one with boxes trailing inside. Thats Lance alright- in all his disorganized glory.

Lance pokes his head out his door, and spots Keith. In only pajama pants. No shirt. No shirt Keith.

“W-What the fuck, Keith! Put on a shirt!” Lance yelps ducking back inside.

Keith rolls his eyes. “C’mon, were not sixteen anymore. And were both dudes!”

“I don’t care! Ever heard of decency? Jesus!” Lance retorts from inside his apartment. Keith groans and head back into his apartment and grabs a tank top from his unfolded laundry pile.

“Okay, I have a shirt on! You can stop being a pansy, now!” He says.

Lance peeks his head out, squinting at him. 

Keith cocks his eyebrow.

Lance goes back inside his own apartment, and gestures Keith inside. For some odd, out-of-this-world reason, Keith follows him in.

The place is littered with cardboard boxes, with the only unpacked thing being a coffee maker and a tea press, with a laptop sitting on his counter. 

“Sorry about he noise, man. Lots’a heavy lifting, y’know?” Lance explains, going back out the door to leave Keith standing awkwardly in his kitchen.

“Uh.. yeah. So, what’d you need again?” Keith asks, unsure of why he’s there exactly.

Lance shrugs, already heading back inside with another box. “I don’t know. Figured you’d want to catch up after so long. And besides, we’ll be working with each other for a while, so I figured we should re-get to know each other. Im pretty sure locker notes wouldn’t be the best first impression, yeah?”

Keith nods absentmindedly. “Okay. You want me to help while we’re, quote unquote, ‘re-getting to know each other’?”

Lane nods, gesturing for him to follow him to get some more boxes. Keith wracks his brain on how to start the conversation, before Lance speaks up. Thank god for social people.

“So, Keith Kogane, child prodigy, a convenience store clerk? Never would of imagined!” Lance quips, bumping Keith with his hip.

Keith blushes, before he realizes this is probably just how Lance interacts with people. Physical affection, that is.

Keith coughs. “Uh, yeah,” he laughs stiffly, “Me either.”

“Yeah man, I’d always thought you’d gone off to college, and become that pilot you always aspired to be. What gives?”

“Eh, I guess it’s just... well, stuff happened, I guess?” Keith feebly explains.

Lance cocks an eyebrow. “‘Stuff?’ What do you mean?” 

Keith coughs again. “Well, uh, Shiro- you remember Shiro, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Okay, well... Shiro went off to become a soldier, so I was kinda left alone for a little. I did go to college, actually. Studied aerodynamics and all that.”

“Uhuh...” Lance says, putting down a box.

“But, uh, something happened and... Shiro lost an arm, and he came back with a lot of issues. Ptsd, stuff like that, and he needed someone at the time, so I offered.”

“Oh, geez... Im- Im sorry, man- I shouldn’t of asked.” Lance says, stopping in his tracks.

“Nah, its.. its alright. You didn’t know.”  
Keith assures him, turning back to get another box from out front.

“Anyway, he needed a caretaker, so I stepped in. I needed to be there for him, so I got a full time job at Garrets, and dropped out. Couldn’t really afford the upkeep and go to college.” Keith explains, scratching the back of his neck.

“Oh. That kinda sucks... not like in a judge-y sort of way, it just seems like it was one thing after another. I feel for you man.” Lance replies, patting him on the shoulder with an empathetic look.

“Thanks, I guess. Its not problem.”

“Yeah, well, I cant say my problems are anything like yours, but college is like a mini-hell. My only solace is coffee and my skincare routine.” He muses, sighing dramatically. Its draws a chuckle out of Keith, and Lance smiles.

“Hunk and Pidge are good too. Cant believe Hunk somehow keeps up his convenience store and goes to college. Im barely keeping up with school alone!” He jokes, trying and succeeding to lighten the mood.

“But I guess you help quite a bit, huh?” Lance continues, walking to the coffee machine.

“Yeah, I guess. I work there almost everyday, so...” Keith replies, trailing off.

“By the way, where’s Shiro now? You mentioned taking care of him, but I haven’t seen him around.” Lance replies, pulling out a few coffee mugs.

“Oh, he got married. It was like a year ago, too. He met this nice lady at one of his therapy sessions, and they started seein’ each other.” Keith says, walking beside Lance to lean against the counter.

“Oh, thats nice! Im glad he found someone. So, you plannin’ on goin’ back to college?” He questioned innocently, unaware of the nerve he’d struck.

Keith froze. Honestly, he didn’t know- he’d thought about it for a long, long time, and Shiro had even said he should, but... he was stable, so what was the point? He was surviving just fine, so, why should he change how he was now?

There was no reason to not, though.

He still has the money for a college fund. He hasn’t touched it, though. That was his dads money, not his. Just because he’s passed away, Keith shouldn’t be able to keep using him. 

He did enough when he got adopted.

“... Keith? You okay?” Lance says worriedly, looking at Keith.

Keith blinks and shakes his head

“Oh- Uh- Sorry, I just... Can I go out for a sec? My thoughts got away from me, and I need some fresh air.” Keith says hurriedly, trying to eject himself from the uncomfortable situation.

“Oh- Uh- Sure, go ahead! Whatever you need man...” Lance says, backing off to give him some space. 

Keith nods his thanks before speed-walking from Lance’s room. He takes a deep breath and thunks his head against the wall outside. Great first impression Keith, freak out at a simple question. Couldn’t of just said ‘I don’t know’. Geez!

Intrusive thoughts were never good, and Keith heads back into his apartment to grab something. He digs his hands into his coat pocket before his hand wraps around the familiar cardboard box. He sighs. 

Cigarettes.

The opposite of a healthy habit, but what a great feeling for Keith.

He pulls them out of his coat pocket and pulls one out for himself, grabbing his lighter from the kitchen counter. He goes into the hallway between the apartments and puts the cigarette to his lips, lighting it and taking a deep breath. 

He hears Lance from his apartment, talking worriedly. “Keith, you okay? I smell smoke-“ He starts, before cutting himself off when he walks outside. 

He must think Keith looks depressing. In his pajamas with a sweat stained tank-top and bed head. What a spectacle.

“You... you smoke?” Lance says, almost disappointed. Just like Shiro.

Keith takes another deep inhale, breathing out form his nose, and doesn’t answer


	5. Moving In

There’s silence from the other end. Keith sighs as he hears footsteps retreat into the apartment, clearly done talking to him. What he doesn’t expect, however, is to hear quickly approaching footsteps coming back out of the apartment; and before he can turn around, he feels something cold splash over his head, and the cigarette in his hand.

There’s dead silence as they stand there, Lance still holding a dripping cup over Keiths head, and Keith frozen still, staring at the now put out smoke between his fingers. His brows furrow.

“What. The fuck.” Keith says, blood boiling and seething beneath his skin.

Lance doesn’t respond.

“I said. What. The fuck?” Keith yells, whipping his hand around to look Lance in the eyes, wearing a full on scowl, and the most dagger-like stare he could conjure.

Lance’s look absolutely trumps his. It is the most chastising look Keith has ever received, and thats definitely saying something. He’s received thousand-yard-stares from every person he’s met - even Shiro’s, which is inherently the worst - and nothing trumps the look Lance can give. Its enough for Keiths mouth to snap shut, sweat beading on his forehead, and his blood runs cold.

Keith promptly decides that he loves that look.

There’s so much emotion in those ocean blue eyes that Keith can barely keep staring back at them.

“No smoking. Not while I’m here. Look, I know we’ve just met up like a day and a half ago, but we knew each other in high school, and I will not allow anyone I know to come close to a cigarette.” Lance scolds, the harsh, yet somehow sympathetic look still in his eyes.

Keith shakes himself out of his shuttle-shocked stupor, and lets his anger bubble up again. “What the fuck, dude! You could’a just told me that instead of - I don’t know - dumping ice cold water on my head!”

Lance rolls his eyes. “Drama queen.”

“Pfft, you call him the drama queen.” A voice perks up from outside the boys little world. They both look in the direction of the voice, and there stands a beautiful woman, same brown skin and blues eyes (just not quite as magnificent) as Lance.

Lances face lifts from the death stare so quickly it gives Keith whip-lash.

“Ximena! I forgot you were coming to help!” Lance says, abandoning the situation he and Keith were in.

“Hey, Lance. I’d offer to help, but you seem to be in some sort of... predicament, right now.” She chuckles, gesturing to their immediate vicinity.

“Predicament is right...” Keith mumbles under his breath, tossing his soggy cigarette to the ground. 

Ximena turns to him with a smile. “Sorry about my brother, here. Sorry, he has a weird way of taking care of people.” 

Keith shrugs it off with a grumble, tussling his hair to get some of the water out. 

Lance pouts at her. “Stop taking like I’m not even here!”

She laughs, and ruffles Lances hair.

‘So that’s what it’d be like to have siblings...’

“Whatever. This is a weird first meeting, but hi. Im Keith.” Keith says, sticking a hand out for a handshake.

Ximena grabs his hand with her own, firm and calloused, with a smile. Strong hands? Discipline? Damn, Keith would be attracted to her if he wasn’t so fuckin’ gay!

“Yeah, not weird to the McClain Family.” She says with a wink.

He hears Lance grumble from behind her and cross his arms. He walks past her and into his apartment, giving Keith the side-eye before stepping inside.

“Thanks for the help Keith, and thanks, Ximena, for getting here so frickin’ late. I’m gonna finish up here so you guys.... do whatever. Get breakfast or somethin’.” 

Ximena cocks an eyebrow and puts her hand on her hip. “Uh-Uh, you still got a lot to get inside. You forgot a couple thinks that I so graciously came to drop off, you little shit.”

Lance groans loudly for his apartment, stocking his head back out to look for Ximena, to Keith, and back to Ximena. “Alright, fine. C’mon, Ximena, Keith- you go get a towel or somethin’.”

Ximena clicks her tongue and waggles her finger, “Nope, I’m not helpin’. You and Keith work on it, and Keith, take a shower. Lance doesn’t have to start paying bills till tomorrow, so this one’s free!”

Lances jaw drops before Ximena is pushing them both into his apartment, closing the door behind them.

The door pushes Keith forward onto Lance, both of them tripping over their feet until Keith inevitably falls on top of the other.

“Have fun!” Ximena calls from outside.


	6. So Uhhh

Does anyone care enough about this story to want me to finish it? Because I still got a little flame goin’ and I like writing, but no one seems to really care..?


	7. Listen, Keith? He's gay bro

By the time they'd fallen inside, both of them already new where this was going. It was the typical 'oops we fell on each-other lets kiss' cliche, and despite them knowing exactly how this was going to turn out, neither of them were prepared for it. Listen, Keiths gay little heart cant take this shit, alright? Sue him- Lance is a beautiful angel whom he would kill or be killed for, he'd already accepted that, but currently he really couldn't deal with how close their faces were. He can't do it man! Because now that he's close up enough to see every tiny freckle dotted on those beautiful cheekbones, the light fade of those baby blues into a darkness deeper than space, the absolute shocked pull to those beautifully crafted lips (bless the woman that made him), he was positively, absolutely, gone. And soon Lance was too, shooting out from underneath Keith quicker than a blink, with apologies dropping from that beautiful mouth of his. 

"Dude, I'm sorry-"

"Ximena's really nice but I swear to christ she-"

"I'm sorry this got awkward so fast-"

Lance kept going, eyes darting from wall to wall, arms flailing in front of him.

"She's just- I'm so-"

Lance squeezes his eyes shut, jamming his palms into the sockets, before letting out a guttural groan.

Keith stares up at him, jaw dropped, trying and failing to grasp at any response that could come to his mind, still showing up blank.

Lance peeks out from beneath his palms, looking down to see Keith's shocked expression, before quickly turning his head and thumping it onto the nearby counter.

"Don't stare, dude, this is embarrassing enough!"

And unbelievably, Keith starts to laugh, hard and harshly, into the open air; and quickly curls into himself as tears start to form in his eyes.

"DoNT LauGH!" Lance yells, voice cracking and he whips back around, hands curled and arms slapped to his sides, a pout on his face.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, it's just-" Keith tries, failing as he falls into another bout of hysterics. 

Lance crosses his arms, letting his shoulders curl up to his ears.

"Okay! I'll stop, I'll stop, its just- you got- you went fuckin' crazy dude!" Keith squeals from the floor, wheezing out a breath between every few words.

Lance curls farther into himself, expression getting less and less jovial as Keith continues to laugh, quickly teetering off into a chuckle as he notices that Lance definitely doesn't think it's funny. Keith really stops laughing when he sees little tears in Lances eyelashes, quickly pushing himself up and off of the floor when Lance starts to lightly sniffle.

"Woah- dude, I'm... I'm sorry, I had no idea you-"

"It's not- it's not you, it's just-" Lance cuts him off, roughly rubbing his forearm across his eyes before turning around. "Ximena really is a good person, she just..." He scoffs, before looking to the ceiling as if he's asking some higher power 'why'?

"Look, Keith, I know we just met yesterday, but..." Lance pauses, as if testing the words on his tongue. "Can I get real with you again?"

Keith rests his palm on Lances shoulder, proving to be a solid 'yes'.

"So..." Lance pauses, "Y'know how I'm kinda... flirty? Like all the time? Like unnecessarily?"

Keith nods, despite Lance not being turned to see him. Lance knows his answer.

"It's not because I think I'm hot shit, or whatever. I mean, that's not why I do it, its not like I'm trying to feel better about myself or anything- I feel fine, actually, never- never-mind, this was stupid, and packing is done, I don't even know why you're still-" 

Keith pulls Lance to look at him, giving him a meek smile. "Keep going."

Lance returns the smile. "My parents are... really, grossly in love with each other, and they have been ever since I was little. They always told me about how it was a love-at-first-sight, about when they met in high school, so when I was younger I was just so ready for it. And it's stupid to just live to wait for something so silly, but... I did. I was so ready to meet that person that I fell behind a lot in school because I spent so much time trying to find that magical connection that they had. I was so desperate for it that I started pretending that I was in love with people, but eventually, it all started becoming real to me. But, then, I never found someone."

Lance pauses, taking a deep breath. "I failed senior year, Keith. I wasn't ready to graduate yet- I had failed my classes, I failed at finding what I was looking for- the only reason I made it through the second time was because of my siblings. I was in the same grade as my younger sister because I was stupid enough to think I'd find my true love in high school! It's pathetic! But, because of that..."

"... I'm absolutely terrified of never finding love." Lance finishes, clearly on the brink of continuing before biting his tongue.

"Lance." Keith says, catching the other mans attention. "I'm only gonna say this once, so you'd better fucking listen."

Lane cocks an eyebrow, sniffing.

"Number One: Your dreams of finding someone are not stupid. And if you say it again I will personally kick you in the mouth." Keith starts, putting up his pointer finger.

Lance chuckles, wiping his arm under his nose.

"Number Two: I am almost 100% positive you will find someone in the next few years. Trust me, I have experience with dating and it's all gone badly, and were basically polar opposites, so you're gonna be just fine."

Lance gives a full belly laugh at that one.

"Number Three: You will, absolutely, find love. Life's short and cruel, but its long enough to grant you that." He finishes, placing an arm around Lances shoulder. 'And if it doesn't, I will personally fill that quota.' he thinks to himself. "P.S., I suck at pep talks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short! Life's been sort of a FUCKFEST lately and inspiration struck at literally 1am. Thanks for the wait!

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! Correct me, encourage me, do what ever, I dont care! You’re actually reading! (The update schedule is going to be h e l l. Encouragment gets me goin, though!)


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